Impacto do efeito de molécula sintética na interação de tripanosomatídeos com células de mamífero

Abstract

Chagas disease, caused by the protozoan Trypanosoma cruzi, remains a major public health concern, particularly in Latin American countries, where it represents one of the main parasitic endemics. Despite decades of research, treatment is still limited to a few drugs with restricted efficacy and significant adverse effects, which highlights the need for new therapeutic alternatives. In this context, bioactive molecules of animal origin have drawn attention, including compounds derived from insect venoms. This study aimed to evaluate the activity of a peptide isolated from the venom of the ant Ectatomma tuberculatum against tissue culture-derived trypomastigotes (TCT) of the Tulahuen strain of T. cruzi. For this purpose, cell viability assays were performed in LLCMK2 cells and TCT, in addition to invasion and intracellular multiplication assays, in order to investigate the compound’s impact on different stages of the parasite’s cycle. The results demonstrated that the peptide reduced cell viability in a dose-dependent manner, affecting both host cells and trypomastigotes. Furthermore, treatment compromised the parasite’s invasion efficiency and significantly reduced its intracellular multiplication, suggesting that the peptide interferes with essential mechanisms of the host–parasite interaction. These findings indicate that the compound does not act solely as a direct cytotoxic agent but may modulate critical processes in the T. cruzi life cycle, raising the hypothesis of interaction with surface proteins or pathways associated with the invasion process. Thus, the results reinforce the potential of insect venom-derived peptides as promising candidates for the development of new therapeutic strategies against Chagas disease, although further studies are needed to clarify their mechanisms of action and validate efficacy in in vivo models.